Skype Becomes Snapchat

You may have noticed some changes in Skype over the last month. The new update started hitting mobile devices earlier in the month with desktop versions following behind soon. In an effort to keep up with other messaging apps like Slack, Facebook Messenger, and Snapchat, Skype has completely rebuilt their platform from the ground up, and there are many people that are not thrilled with the changes.

One of the new features of Skype is very similar to the way Snapchat works and is called Highlights (as opposed to Stories on Facebook or Instagram). Highlights lets you create a highlight reel of your day with photos and videos, so you can share everyday moments. This is a feature that was not needed or requested by users of the product. Much of Skype’s user base is business professionals and use it as a way to keep in touch with international contacts. It seems that Skype is leaving its business roots behind in favor of more consumer-friendly features, that don’t seem to be very consumer-friendly after all.

The new Skype appears overly complicated and the users are letting Skype know about it in the reviews both in the Apple Store and the Google Play store. Some report not being able to find the button to make a call (one of Skype’s most important features), not being able to set your status as “invisible” and having a hard time seeing exactly who is currently online. The truth is, we don’t need another Snapchat clone. Chat programs need to figure out what their unique selling point is, and improve on that.

I am still looking for someone to come out with one chat program to rule them all, that will aggregate your messages from ALL platforms into one nice location. I won’t hold my breath for that though.